WO2012086472A1

WO2012086472A1 - Wireless communication device and method of wireless communication

Info

Publication number: WO2012086472A1
Application number: PCT/JP2011/078824
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雄也高塚; 永井　幸政; 敏典堀
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2010-12-20
Filing date: 2011-12-13
Publication date: 2012-06-28
Also published as: DE112011104452T5; US20130169481A1; JPWO2012086472A1; CN103155443B; CN103155443A; JP5335153B2

Abstract

The present invention is provided with a BT device unit (3) which performs wireless communication using frequency hopping; a WLAN device unit (2) which uses a frequency band including at least a part of the frequency band used by the BT device unit (3), uses a WLAN antenna (21) having controllable directional characteristics, and performs wireless communication using a scheme different from that of the BT device unit (3); and an information management unit (4) which, when detecting the simultaneous communication by the BT device unit (3) and the WLAN device unit (2), instructs the WLAN device unit (2) to perform communication while adjusting the beam direction of the WLAN antenna (21) and the BT device unit (3) to measure the quality of communication, determines a value for setting the directional characteristics of the WLAN antenna (21) on the basis of the quality of communication measurement results from the BT device unit (3), and instructs the WLAN device unit (2) to perform communication using the determined value for setting the directional characteristics.

Description

Wireless communication apparatus and wireless communication method

The present invention relates to a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication method that are compatible with two communication methods using the same frequency band and that can simultaneously perform communication corresponding to each communication method.

The 2.4 GHz band, called the ISM (Industry Science Medical) band, allows users to use wireless devices without a license if they meet the standards stipulated in the Radio Law. For this reason, wireless LAN (Local Area Network) (IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)) 802.11b / g / n), Bluetooth (registered trademark), cordless phones, and other devices using this frequency band. It has been actively developed in recent years.

In a wireless communication device using IEEE802.11b / g / n (hereinafter referred to as a WLAN (Wireless LAN) device), in consideration of noise resistance, direct spread spectrum spread (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum: DSSS). And OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology has been introduced (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1 below). In such a WLAN device, communication is performed using one of fixed 14 channels (hereinafter referred to as a WLAN channel) in the 2.4 GHz band ISM band. Each WLAN channel has an occupied frequency bandwidth (22 MHz) corresponding to about 20 channels used by the Bluetooth (registered trademark) apparatus, and an interval between adjacent channels is 5 MHz. Note that the center frequency band of the WLAN channel is assigned between 2.412 GHz and 2.484 GHz.

Also, in WLAN devices, in consideration of interoperability with other networks or other systems, a CSMA / CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access Aidance) method is mainly introduced as a wireless access method. In the CSMA / CA system, each WALN device senses a radio channel prior to radio packet transmission. If the carrier sense confirms that the channel is in use (channel busy), it waits for transmission of the radio packet, and the channel unused (channel idle) time and backoff time determined in advance for each frame type. After elapses, the wireless packet is transmitted.

On the other hand, Bluetooth (registered trademark) compatible wireless communication devices (hereinafter referred to as BT devices) adopt frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technology in consideration of noise resistance ( For example, see Non-Patent Document 2 below). Specifically, in the BT apparatus, one FH channel is selected from 79 frequency channels (hereinafter referred to as FH channels) having a width of 1 MHz defined in a frequency band from 2.40 GHz to 2.48 GHz, and time A frequency hopping method is employed in which radio communication is performed by switching the FH channel selected with the passage of time. In this frequency hopping method, an FH channel is selected at regular time intervals (for example, 625 μs) based on a predetermined pseudo-random algorithm, and communication is performed by allocating one packet data to the selected FH channel.

As described above, since both the BT device and the WLAN device use the 2.4 GHz band, if such a BT device and the WLAN device exist in each other's communication area, radio waves transmitted from each other interfere with each other, and each other. Will interfere with the communication. As a method of avoiding such radio wave interference, there is a technique called adaptive frequency hopping (AFH). With this technology, the BT device measures the bit error rate (Bit Error Rate: BER), the packet error rate (Pack Error Rate: PER), etc. during transmission, or in a slot that is not communicating between BT devices. By measuring the received signal strength, the quality of the FH channel on the BT device side (susceptibility to failures from other systems such as a WLAN device) is observed. And a BT apparatus prevents interference from other systems, such as WLAN, by performing frequency hopping avoiding the FH channel judged that there is a radio wave that disturbs its communication based on the observed result.

In order to enable communication with wireless terminals by suppressing interference waves from other wireless systems using the same frequency band and interference wave generation sources such as microwave ovens in WLAN AP (Access Point), A method of detecting the reception level and performing beam forming is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this method, the AP can form a plurality of directional beams having maximum directivities in different directions, and by measuring the reception level of RTS (Request to Send) transmitted by the wireless terminal, the RTS is determined from the reception level. Select a directional beam to be used for communication with the transmitting terminal.

JP 2003-18074 A

However, in the conventional AFH technology, a channel in which WLAN communication is in use is excluded from an FH channel in which BT communication can be used. Therefore, in a situation where there are many WLAN terminals in the vicinity and a plurality of channels are used, the number of FH channels that can be used for BT communication decreases, and the communication quality of BT communication deteriorates (for example, the throughput decreases). And an increase in propagation delay time).

In addition, a wireless device that is equipped with the functions of both a WLAN device and a BT device, and performs both WLAN communication and BT communication, depends on the priority of a packet called PTA (Packet Traffic Arbitration) (WLAN communication or There is a technology that suppresses mutual interference by waiting for transmission of (BT communication). However, even in this technique, since one of the WLAN communication and the BT communication is made to wait, there is a problem that the communication quality on the side to be kept on is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and a wireless communication apparatus and a wireless communication method capable of suppressing interference with other communication in an environment where a plurality of wireless communication systems using the same frequency band coexist. The purpose is to obtain.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides at least a part of a first communication unit that performs wireless communication using frequency hopping and a band used by the first communication unit. A second communication unit that uses a directional antenna that can control the directivity using a band including the first band, and performs wireless communication in a manner different from that of the first communication unit; When simultaneous communication by the communication unit and the second communication unit is detected, the second communication unit performs communication while adjusting the beam direction of the directional antenna, and the first communication unit performs communication quality. The first communication unit and the second communication unit are instructed to measure the directional antenna, and the directivity setting value of the directional antenna is determined based on the communication quality measurement result by the first communication unit. And the decision Characterized in that it comprises and a control means for instructing said second communication means to communicate using a directional setting value, a.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress interference between two communications that use the same frequency band and communicate in different ways, and to improve the communication quality of communications using frequency hopping. There is an effect.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first embodiment of a wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication system including the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a positional relationship between the BT terminal and the WLAN terminal. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of storing the estimation result of the BT terminal position. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of storing the beam direction determination result. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a position estimation method for the BT terminal. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an interference avoidance method when BT communication is started after WLAN communication is started. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the BT terminal and the WLAN terminal. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of storing the location estimation result of the WLAN terminal. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation for determining an interference avoidance method between WLAN communication and BT communication. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a third embodiment of the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication system including the wireless communication apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the BT terminal and the WLAN terminal. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the third embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method of storing WLAN terminal information.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a wireless communication device and a wireless communication method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first embodiment of a wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless communication device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a WLAN device unit 2 which is a communication device compatible with the wireless LAN (IEEE802.11b / g / n) standard, and a communication device compatible with the BT standard. The BT device unit 3 and the information management unit 4 that controls the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3 and manages these information are provided. The WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3 are information management units. In accordance with the instructions in 4, communication of different communication methods is performed in parallel. In FIG. 1, main components of the WLAN device unit 2, the BT device unit 3, and the information management unit 4 are also illustrated.

The WLAN device unit 2 includes a WLAN antenna 21, a WLAN radio unit 22, a WLAN control unit 23, a transmission / reception signal amplifying unit (not shown), a filter, a modulation / demodulation processing unit, and the like. Note that the WLAN antenna 21 is an antenna capable of transmitting and receiving in any direction, for example, a sector antenna having directivity in four directions. Further, not only directional communication but also non-directional communication is possible. The WLAN antenna 21 includes a sector antenna having directivity in a plurality of directions, a smart antenna that can form a beam in any direction, an antenna that can perform beam forming, an antenna that searches for surrounding devices and forms an optimum beam pattern, It may be a phased array antenna or the like, and is not limited to a sector antenna.

The BT device unit 3 includes a BT antenna 31, a BT radio unit 32, a BT control unit 33, an interface unit with a host controller (not shown), and the like. It is assumed that the BT antenna 31 is an omnidirectional antenna, and the BT device unit 3 has an AFH function (adaptive frequency hopping function).

The information management unit 4 includes a WLAN management unit 41 that manages WLAN-related information and a BT management unit 42 that manages BT-related information. The information management unit 4 operates as a control unit, and issues an instruction regarding each communication to the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3. Also, connection terminal information and frequency information to be used are acquired from the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3.

The WLAN management unit 41 includes a WLAN basic information acquisition unit 411 and a WLAN information storage unit 412. The WLAN basic information acquisition unit 411 acquires the ID (for example, MAC address) of the connected WLAN terminal, QoS support information, corresponding rate information, and the like, and the WLAN information storage unit 412 stores the information. The WLAN information storage unit 412 also stores WLAN channel information used by the WLAN device unit 2.

The BT management unit 42 includes a BT basic information acquisition unit 421, a BT information storage unit 422, and a BT terminal position estimation unit 423. The BT basic information acquisition unit 421 acquires the ID (for example, MAC address) of the connected BT terminal, BT version information, and the like, and the BT information storage unit 422 stores these information. The BT information storage unit 422 also stores an AFH channel map indicating FH channels that can be used in AFH in the BT device unit 3. The BT terminal position estimation unit 423 estimates the position of the BT terminal to be connected in cooperation with the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3. The estimated position information is stored in the BT information storage unit 422. A method for estimating the position of the BT terminal will be described later.

The timing at which the WLAN management unit 41 and the BT management unit 42 in the information management unit 4 acquire information from the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3, respectively, is when an event occurs in the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3. The information generated or acquired by the event may be automatically notified to the information management unit 4 as communication information, or the information management unit 4 may periodically or arbitrarily send information to the WLAN device unit 2 and the BT device unit 3. A method of notifying an instruction to request information collection at timing may be used. Moreover, you may use these methods properly by information or an apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a wireless communication system including a wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication system includes the wireless communication apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a WLAN terminal 11 that performs WLAN communication, and a BT terminal 12 that performs BT communication.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the WLAN antenna 21 has directivity in four directions (A, B, C, D), and the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 are different from each other. It shall be located in the beam direction. In FIG. 3, the WLAN terminal 11 is located in the C direction of the WLAN beam, and the BT terminal 12 is located in the A direction of the WLAN beam. However, the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 are located in different directions. For example, the present arrangement is not particularly limited. Further, although the WLAN antenna 21 has directivity in four directions, the number of sectors is not particularly limited.

Next, the interference avoidance method of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a sequence when the WLAN terminal 11 connects to the wireless communication apparatus 1 after the BT terminal 12 connects to the wireless communication apparatus 1 on the premise of the configuration shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, the BT device unit 3 of the wireless communication device 1 performs connection control processing for BT communication with the BT terminal 12 (step S1). Note that the connection control process for BT communication is the same as that of the prior art.

After the BT communication connection control process is completed, the BT device unit 3 notifies the information management unit 4 of a BT connection notification for notifying that the BT connection has been completed (step S2). In the BT connection notification, for example, the MAC address of the connected BT terminal, AFH channel map information used for BT communication, and the like are stored.

On the other hand, after the BT connection control process is completed, data transmission / reception by BT communication is performed between the BT device unit 3 of the wireless communication device 1 and the BT terminal 12 (step S3).

In the information management unit 4 that has received the BT connection notification and has detected the start of communication of the BT device unit 3, the information (BT terminal MAC address, AFH channel map information, etc.) acquired by the BT connection notification is used as the BT terminal information. The BT basic information acquisition unit 421 of the management unit 42 is notified. The acquired BT terminal information is stored in the BT information storage unit 422. Further, when recognizing the connection of the BT terminal 12, the BT terminal position estimating unit 423 performs position estimation of the BT terminal 12 (step S4). A method for estimating the position of the BT terminal 12 will be described later. The estimation result of the BT terminal position is, for example, the beam direction of the corresponding WLAN antenna. The estimation result of the BT terminal position only needs to know the position of the BT terminal 12, and is not limited to the beam direction of the WLAN antenna, such as direction information, a seat position in an automobile, and the like. The position estimation result of the BT terminal 12 is stored in the BT information storage unit 422. The stored contents are, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the MAC address of the BT terminal 12, AFH channel map information, and position information of the BT terminal 12 (here, the beam direction of the WLAN antenna) are stored in association with each other. The stored contents are not limited to this.

Further, when the information management unit 4 receives the BT connection notification, the information management unit 4 notifies the WLAN management unit 41 that the BT connection with the BT terminal 12 has been performed (BT communication has started).

After executing the processing of steps S1 to S4, the WLAN device unit 2 of the wireless communication device 1 performs WLAN connection control processing with the WLAN terminal 11 (step S5). Note that the connection control process for WLAN communication is the same as in the prior art.

After the connection control process for WLAN communication is completed, the WLAN device unit 2 notifies the information management unit 4 of a WLAN connection notification for notifying that the WLAN connection is completed (step S6). The WLAN connection notification stores, for example, the MAC address of the connected WLAN terminal, WLAN channel information used for WLAN communication, and the like.

On the other hand, after the WLAN connection control processing is completed, data transmission / reception by WLAN communication is performed between the WLAN device unit 2 of the wireless communication device 1 and the WLAN terminal 11 (step S7).

In the information management unit 4 that has received the WLAN connection notification and detected the start of communication of the WLAN device unit 2, the information (such as the MAC address of the WLAN terminal, WLAN channel information) acquired by the WLAN connection notification is used as WLAN terminal information to manage the WLAN. This is notified to the WLAN basic information acquisition unit 411 of the unit 41. The acquired WLAN terminal information is stored in the WLAN information storage unit 412. Further, the WLAN management unit 41 that recognizes the connection of the BT terminal 12 acquires the location information of the BT terminal 12 stored in the BT information storage unit 422, and directs NULL in the direction in which the BT terminal 12 is located. The beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21 is determined so as to point the point (step S8). The determined beam direction is stored in the WLAN information storage unit 412. The stored contents are, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the MAC address of the WLAN terminal 11, the WLAN channel, and the WLAN antenna beam number to be used are stored in association with each other. The stored contents are not limited to this.

When the information management unit 4 determines the beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21, the information management unit 4 notifies the determined antenna beam direction to the WLAN device unit 2 (step S9). The antenna beam direction notification stores the antenna beam information determined in step S8. When receiving the antenna beam direction notification, the WLAN device unit 2 communicates with the WLAN terminal 11 using the notified antenna beam.

Here, a method for estimating the position of the BT terminal 12 in step S4 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a position estimation method for the BT terminal. Note that FIG. 7 is an example, and the order and contents of the processing are not limited to this, and any method may be used as long as the position of the BT terminal 12 can be estimated.

7, in the BT terminal location estimation method of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the information management unit 4 acquires the FH channel and transmission timing transmitted by the BT terminal 12. Then, the WLAN dummy data is transmitted in the designated WLAN beam direction at the same timing as the timing at which the BT terminal 12 performs the BT transmission and the WLAN channel including the FH channel. This is performed in all beam directions, and the BT terminal position is estimated from the presence / absence of an error in the BT packet.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the BT terminal position estimating operation, first, the BT terminal position estimating unit 423 performs the processing shown in steps S12 to S15 (measurement of the presence / absence of errors in the BT packet) described later for all the WLAN antennas 21. It is confirmed whether or not the processing is completed for the beam direction (step S11). As a result of the confirmation, when the measurement is completed (step S11: Yea), the process proceeds to step S16.

On the other hand, when the measurement has not been completed (step S11: No), the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 acquires the transmission FH channel in the BT communication and the timing to transmit in each FH channel (step S12). These pieces of information can be acquired from AFH channel map information included in the BT terminal information stored in the BT information storage unit 422.

Next, the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 uses the WLAN channel including this FH channel at the timing when the BT transmission using the arbitrary FH channel is performed to the WLAN device unit 2, and designates an arbitrary beam direction. Is instructed to transmit dummy data, and the dummy data is transmitted (step S13). Note that the beam direction for transmitting the dummy data is a beam direction for which the error presence / absence measurement of the BT packet has not been completed in the processing so far.

Next, the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 acquires from the BT device unit 3 the presence / absence of an error in the packet during the period during which the dummy data was transmitted in step S13 (step S14), and further in response to the transmission instruction in step S13. The beam direction indicated (specified) in the WLAN device unit 2 and the presence / absence of an error in the packet acquired in step S14 are stored (step S15). The presence / absence of an error in a packet is treated as an error if, for example, the packet error rate has reached a predetermined threshold. You may make it memorize | store the error occurrence rate itself instead of the presence or absence of an error. After executing step S15, the process returns to step S11 to determine whether or not to continue the measurement.

When the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 determines that the measurement is not continued in step S11, that is, the error presence / absence measurement of the BT packet is performed by repeatedly executing steps S12 to S15 for all beam directions of the WLAN antenna 21. (Step S11: Yes), when the BT terminal is located in the WLAN beam direction in which the error has occurred, based on the information stored in Step S15 (information indicating whether or not an error in the BT packet has occurred for each of all WLAN beam directions). Determination is made (step S16). If the error occurrence rate is stored in step S15, it is determined that the BT terminal is located in the WLAN beam direction with the highest error occurrence rate.

Although FIG. 7 shows an example in which the processes of steps S12 to S15 are executed for all beam directions of the WLAN antenna 21, the BT terminal direction is determined when an error of the BT packet occurs, and the remaining WLAN Processing in the beam direction may be omitted.

Alternatively, it is possible to estimate that the BT terminal 12 is located in the WLAN beam direction in which the BT packet error is the largest by executing the processes of steps S12 to S15 a plurality of times for one WLAN beam direction.

Furthermore, the WLAN channel may be fixed, and the dummy data may be transmitted in accordance with the transmission timing using the FH channel in the WLAN channel.

Also, for example, dummy data is transmitted in a specific WLAN antenna beam direction, and the number of FH channels that can be used in AFH of BT communication at that time is acquired from the BT device unit 3. This can be performed for all directions, and it can be estimated that the BT terminal is located in the direction with the least number of usable FH channels.

In the BT terminal estimation method based on the number of usable FH channels, dummy data is transmitted by designating a WLAN antenna NULL point only in a specific direction, and the NULL direction in which the number of FH channels usable in AFH is the largest. It is also possible to determine that the BT terminal is located at

As another BT terminal position estimation method, the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 causes the WLAN device unit 2 to perform carrier sense for a specified WLAN antenna beam direction for a certain period of time, and for a signal estimated as BT. The number of times of being caught by carrier sense (the number of times of detecting a received power level equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold) is acquired. It is also possible to execute this in all beam directions and determine that the BT terminal is located in the direction where the number of times of being caught by the carrier sense is the largest.

Further, in the above BT terminal position estimation method using WLAN carrier sense, a number other than WLAN based on the carrier sense threshold (a beam direction that does not reach the carrier sense level of WLAN but has a certain received power level) It is also possible to estimate the direction with the largest number of measurements as the BT terminal position direction.

In the sequence shown in FIG. 4, the antenna beam direction is determined after starting the WLAN data communication in step S7. However, the WLAN device unit 2 receives the antenna beam direction notification from the information management unit 4. WLAN data communication may be started using the notified antenna beam.

The timing for notifying the WLAN connection notification may be, for example, when the WLAN device unit 2 determines a WLAN channel to be used by using Scan or the like, or transmitting or receiving a WLAN control frame such as Probe, Authentication, Association, or the like. It may be when the 4-way-handshake starts or ends, and may be notified at any one timing.

In the control operation described above, the directivity control of the WLAN antenna 21 is performed based only on the position information of the BT terminal 12. However, the number of AFH FH channels that can be used by the BT terminal 12 is acquired, and the AFH that can be used is acquired. This may be implemented only when the number of FH channels is insufficient (when the number of FH channels is equal to or less than a prescribed threshold).

So far, the interference avoidance method in the case of starting the WLAN communication after starting the BT communication has been described. Next, the interference avoidance method in the case of starting the BT communication after starting the WLAN communication will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of an interference avoidance method when BT communication is started after WLAN communication is started.

In the operation according to the sequence shown in FIG. 8, first, the WLAN device unit 2 of the wireless communication device 1 performs a WLAN connection process with the WLAN terminal 11 (step S21), and further manages the WLAN connection notification as information management. In addition to notifying the unit 4, data transmission / reception by WLAN communication is started (steps S22 and S23). Note that these processes are the same as steps S5 to S7 described above.

After executing the processing of steps S21 to S23, the BT device unit 3 of the wireless communication device 1 performs BT connection processing with the BT terminal 12 (step S24), and further performs BT connection to the information management unit 4. BT connection notification is sent to notify the completion of (step S25), and data transmission / reception with the BT terminal 12 is started (step S26). These processes are the same as the above-described steps S1 to S3.

Next, the information management unit 4 estimates the position of the BT terminal 12 in the same procedure as in step S4 described above (step S27). Further, the antenna beam direction is determined by the same procedure as in steps S8 and S9 described above, and the determined antenna beam direction is notified to the WLAN device unit 2 (steps S28 and S29). When receiving the antenna beam direction notification, the WLAN device unit 2 communicates with the WLAN terminal 11 using the notified antenna beam.

The AFH channel map in communication between the BT device unit 3 and the BT terminal 12 is created in a state where the WLAN channel is used between the WLAN device unit 2 and the WLAN terminal 11. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect the change in the channel usage status by the beam control of the WLAN antenna 21 in the AFH channel map. Therefore, after notifying the WLAN antenna beam direction in step S29, the information management unit 4 notifies the BT device unit 3 of the update notification of the AFH channel map to be used and instructs the update of the AFH channel map (step S30). .

The BT device unit 3 that has received the AFH channel map update notification updates the AFH channel map used for BT communication with the BT terminal 12 (step S31).

After the update of the AFH channel map is completed, the BT device unit 3 transmits an AFH channel map notification storing the updated AFH channel map information to the information management unit 4 (step S32). The information management unit 4 that has received the AFH channel map notification notifies the received AFH channel map to the BT management unit 42, and the BT management unit 42 updates the AFH channel map information stored in the BT information storage unit 422. .

In the example of the interference avoidance sequence described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8, when WLAN communication and BT communication are performed simultaneously, the NULL point of the WLAN antenna beam in the direction in which the BT terminal 12 is located regardless of the AFH channel map situation. However, the directivity of the WLAN antenna may be controlled only when the number of usable FH channels falls below the threshold with reference to the AFH channel map.

Further, when the BT terminal 12 is disconnected (when the simultaneous communication between the BT terminal 12 and the WLAN terminal 11 is completed), the WLAN antenna beam is changed to a normal beam form (steps S8 and S9 in FIG. 4 and step S28 in FIG. 8). , S29 before execution).

In this embodiment, the BT communication method is described as an example of the communication method for performing frequency hopping. However, the communication method is not limited to BT communication as long as the communication method performs frequency hopping. Further, WLAN communication has been described as an example of a communication method using the same frequency band as a communication method for performing frequency hopping. However, the wireless communication method is not limited to WLAN communication as long as the information management unit 4 can perform the above control.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the WLAN terminal and the BT terminal communicate simultaneously, the communication quality of the BT communication when the directivity of the directional antenna used by the WLAN device is sequentially changed (for example, packet error occurs). The position of the BT terminal is estimated by checking the presence / absence), and the WLAN antenna beam is controlled based on the estimation result. Specifically, the WLAN antenna is adjusted so that the directivity NULL point faces the estimated position of the BT terminal. Thereby, interference of WLAN communication and BT communication can be suppressed. In addition, since the BT communication is not affected by the WLAN communication, the channel used for the WLAN communication can be used as the FH channel of the BT communication, so that the communication quality of the BT can be improved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the wireless communication device 1a of the present embodiment replaces the information management unit 4 constituting the wireless communication device 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 with the WLAN management unit 41a and the BT management unit 42. Is replaced with the information management unit 4a. The WLAN management unit 41a is obtained by adding a WLAN terminal location estimation unit 413 that estimates the location of the connected WLAN terminal to the WLAN management unit 41 described in the first embodiment. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those of the wireless communication apparatus 1 are attached to the same components as those of the wireless communication apparatus 1 described in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the description will be focused on the parts different from the first embodiment.

A configuration example of a wireless communication system including the wireless communication device 1a according to the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 2). Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the WLAN antenna 21 has directivity in four directions, and the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 are located in the same direction. In FIG. 10, the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 are located in the A direction of the WLAN beam, but are not particularly limited to this arrangement as long as they are in the same direction. Further, although the WLAN antenna 21 has directivity in four directions, the number of sectors is not particularly limited. In addition, the WLAN device unit 2 and the WLAN terminal 11 that communicates with the WLAN device unit 2 according to the present embodiment shall support a plurality of frequency bands (for example, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz).

Next, the interference avoidance method of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows a sequence when the WLAN terminal 11 is connected to the wireless communication device 1a after the BT terminal 12 is connected to the wireless communication device 1a on the premise of the configuration shown in FIGS. In FIG. 11, the same step number is assigned to the same process as the process described in FIG. 4 used in the description of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the description of the process given the same step number as in FIG. 4 is omitted.

After executing Steps S1 to S6 described in Embodiment 1 with reference to FIG. 4, in the information management unit 4a that has received the WLAN connection notification transmitted in Step S6, the WLAN terminal 11 is connected to the WLAN management unit 41a. The WLAN management unit 41a that has received this notification causes the WLAN terminal location estimation unit 413 to estimate the location of the WLAN terminal 11 (step S41). The WLAN terminal position estimation unit 413 estimates, for example, which beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21 the WLAN terminal 11 is in. The WLAN terminal position estimation unit 413 instructs the WLAN device unit 2 to transmit data only in the specified specific direction, and confirm the response from the WLAN terminal 11 to this. This is executed for all beam directions, and it is estimated that the WLAN terminal 11 is located in a direction in which there is a response. The position estimation method of the WLAN terminal 11 is not particularly limited, and may be estimated from the received power in each antenna beam, for example. Further, the position estimation result of the WLAN terminal 11 is stored in the WLAN information storage unit 412. The stored contents are, for example, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, the MAC address of the WLAN terminal 11, the WLAN channel, the location information of the WLAN terminal (here, the beam direction of the WLAN antenna) and the WLAN antenna beam number to be used (since the initial state is omnidirectional, A, B , C, and D) are stored in association with each other. The stored contents are not limited to this.

When the information management unit 4a recognizes the simultaneous connection of the BT terminal 12 and the WLAN terminal 11, the information management unit 4a determines an interference avoidance method between the WLAN communication and the BT communication (step S42). This interference avoidance method determining means will be described later.

When the information management unit 4a determines the interference avoidance method in step S42, the information management unit 4a notifies the WLAN device unit 2 of information for executing the determined interference avoidance method (step S43). For example, when changing the WLAN antenna beam direction, the same information as in the first embodiment is notified. When changing the WLAN frequency band as in the present embodiment, the changed frequency band is notified. The frequency is changed using a technique such as Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) described in IEEE802.11h, for example.

FIG. 11 shows a sequence example in the case where the WLAN position estimation is performed after the start of the WLAN data communication to determine the interference avoidance method. However, the position of the WLAN terminal 11 is estimated in step S41 and step S42. The WLAN data communication (step S7) may be started after the interference avoidance method is determined.

Here, the determination operation of the method for avoiding the interference between the WLAN communication and the BT communication in step S42 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation for determining an interference avoidance method between WLAN communication and BT communication. Note that FIG. 13 is an example, and the order and contents of the processing are not limited to this. If the WLAN terminal and the BT terminal are located in the same direction, how can interference be avoided by changing the frequency used for WLAN communication? It is good as a simple method.

In the interference avoidance method determination operation shown in FIG. 13, the information management unit 4 a first obtains the location information of the WLAN terminal 11 and the location information of the BT terminal 12 stored in the WLAN information storage unit 412 and the BT information storage unit 422. Confirmation is made to determine whether the BT terminal 12 and the WLAN terminal 11 are located in the same direction (step S51). If they are not located in the same direction (step S51: No), the control described in the first embodiment is performed to determine the beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21 (step S53). That is, similarly to step S8 described above, the beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21 is determined so that the directional NULL point is directed in the direction in which the BT terminal 12 is located.

On the other hand, when the BT terminal 12 and the WLAN terminal 11 are located in the same direction (step S51: Yes), the WLAN management unit 41a refers to the information stored in the WLAN information storage unit 412, and the WLAN terminal 11 It is confirmed whether or not other frequency bands are supported (step S52). If another frequency band is not supported (step S52: No), the process is terminated. On the other hand, when another frequency band is supported (step S52: Yes), it is determined to avoid interference by changing the frequency band used for WLAN communication (step S54). In this embodiment, only one WLAN terminal 11 is connected. However, when a plurality of WLAN terminals are connected, the support status of all the terminals is confirmed. When the WLAN device unit 2 and the WLAN antenna 21 support the simultaneous use of different frequency bands, the frequency band of the corresponding WLAN terminal (the WLAN terminal located in the same direction as the BT terminal 12). You may change only.

In the interference avoidance method determination sequence example illustrated in FIG. 13, when the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 communicate simultaneously, the interference avoidance method is determined regardless of the AFH channel map. Refer to the AFH channel map. The interference avoidance method (change of the beam direction of the WLAN antenna 21, change of the used frequency band of WLAN communication) may be determined only when the number of usable FH channels falls below the threshold.

In this embodiment, when the WLAN terminal 11 and the BT terminal 12 are positioned in the same WLAN antenna beam direction, the frequency band used for WLAN communication is changed according to the situation, but the BT terminal 12 is disconnected. In the case of moving in a different WLAN beam direction, the original frequency band may be restored and the interference avoidance method described in the first embodiment may be used.

The sequence shown in FIG. 11 shows an example in which the WLAN communication starts after the start of the BT communication, but the operation in the case of starting the BT communication after the start of the WLAN communication is the same.

In this embodiment, the BT communication method is described as an example of the communication method for performing frequency hopping. However, the communication method is not limited to BT communication as long as it is a frequency hopping communication method. Although the WLAN communication has been described as an example of the communication method using the same frequency band as the communication method for performing frequency hopping, the wireless communication method is not limited to the WLAN communication as long as the information management unit 4a can perform the above control.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the WLAN terminal and the BT terminal communicate simultaneously, the communication quality of the BT communication when the directivity of the directional antenna used by the WLAN device is sequentially changed (for example, packet error occurs). BT terminal position is estimated, and the directivity of the directional antenna used by the WLAN device is sequentially changed to transmit data addressed to the WLAN terminal and confirm whether there is a response to this. Thus, the location of the WLAN terminal is estimated, and based on the estimation result, the frequency band used in WLAN communication is changed, or the WLAN antenna beam is controlled so that the directivity NULL point is directed toward the estimated location of the BT terminal. Thus, the WLAN antenna was adjusted. Thereby, even if a WLAN terminal and a BT terminal are located in the same direction, interference between WLAN communication and BT communication can be suppressed. In addition, since the BT communication is not affected by the WLAN communication, the channel used for the WLAN communication can be used as the FH channel of the BT communication, so that the communication quality of the BT can be improved. In addition, considering the AFH channel map, unnecessary frequency changes can be suppressed by changing the frequency band only when the number of channels usable in AFH is insufficient.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a third embodiment of the wireless communication apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the wireless communication device 1b according to the present embodiment replaces the information management unit 4a that constitutes the wireless communication device 1a according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 with the information management unit 41a and the BT management unit 42b. Is replaced with the information management unit 4b. The BT management unit 42b is obtained by deleting the BT terminal position estimation unit 423 from the BT management unit 42 described in the first embodiment. In FIG. 14, the same reference numerals as those of the

wireless communication apparatuses

1 and 1a are attached to the same components as those of the

wireless communication apparatuses

1 and 1a described in the first and second embodiments. In the present embodiment, a description will be given centering on differences from the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wireless communication system including the wireless communication apparatus according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, this wireless communication system includes the wireless communication device 1b shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of WLAN terminals 11-1 and 11-2 that perform WLAN communication, and a BT terminal 12 that performs BT communication. Is done.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the WLAN antenna 21 can form an antenna beam in an arbitrary direction, and an antenna beam angle (radiation angle of radio waves) can be adjusted. Note that any antenna may be used as long as the beam angle of the antenna is adjustable, and the type of antenna is not particularly limited, such as a smart antenna, a phased array antenna, and a sector antenna.

Next, the interference avoidance method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the interference avoidance method according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 17, assuming the configuration shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, after the BT terminal 12 is connected to the wireless communication device 1b, the WLAN terminal 11-1 (for example, a notebook PC) is connected to the wireless communication device 1b. Furthermore, a sequence when the WLAN terminal 11-2 (for example, a fixed display) is connected to the wireless communication device 1b is shown. In FIG. 17, the same step number is assigned to the same process as the process described in FIGS. 4 and 11 used in the description of the first and second embodiments. In the present embodiment, the description of the processes given the same step numbers as those in FIGS. 4 and 11 is omitted.

In the radio communication system according to the present embodiment, first, the processes of steps S1 to S3 described in the first embodiment are performed between the BT device unit 3 and the BT terminal 12 of the radio communication device 1b to perform BT data communication. Start. Next, the processing of steps S5 to S7 described in the first embodiment is executed between the information management unit 4b and the WLAN device unit 2 of the wireless communication device 1b and the WLAN terminal 11-1, and the WLAN device unit 2 and the WLAN The terminal 11-1 starts WLAN data communication.

When the information management unit 4b receives the WLAN connection notification transmitted in step S6, the WLAN management unit 41a uses the WLAN terminal 11-1's location information, device information, and movement information as WLAN terminal information of the WLAN terminal 11-1. Sex etc. are acquired (step S61). The acquisition method will be described later. The WLAN information storage unit 412 stores the WLAN terminal information acquired by the WLAN management unit 41a. The stored contents are, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 18 shows an example in which the MAC address of the WLAN terminal, the WLAN channel, the location information of the WLAN terminal (for example, the antenna direction where the terminal is located), and the antenna beam angle are stored in association with each other.

Next, after acquiring the WLAN terminal information, the WLAN management unit 41a of the information management unit 4b recognizes the connection of another wireless device that uses the same frequency band (in this case, recognizes the connection of the BT terminal 12). The beam angle of the WLAN antenna 21 is determined based on the terminal information (step S62). In the present embodiment, the WLAN terminal 11-1 is assumed to be a notebook PC, and movement is expected. For this reason, it is predicted in advance that the communication area will change due to movement, and a wide-range WLAN antenna beam is formed (the set value of the antenna beam angle is increased). The antenna beam angle can be arbitrarily set by the WLAN management unit 41a.

The WLAN management unit 41a of the information management unit 4b transmits an antenna beam control notification including WLAN antenna beam information indicating the determination result in step S62 to the WLAN device unit 2 (step S63). The WLAN device unit 2 controls the WLAN antenna 21 according to the acquired WLAN antenna beam information, and adjusts the angle of the antenna beam used for communication with the WLAN terminal 11-1.

Thereafter, Steps S64 to S66 are executed between the information management unit 4b and the WLAN device unit 2 of the wireless communication device 1b and the WLAN terminal 11-2, and the WLAN device unit 2 and the WLAN terminal 11-2 start WLAN data communication. To do. These steps S64 to S66 are the same as the processing executed when the WLAN terminal 11-1 starts the WLAN data communication. That is, in steps S64 to S66, the processes in steps S5 to S7 described in the first embodiment are executed.

Further, when the information management unit 4b receives a WLAN connection notification indicating that it is connected to the WLAN terminal 11-2 in step S65, the WLAN management unit 41a performs the WLAN terminal 11- as in the above-described steps S61 to S63. The location information, device information, mobility, and the like of the WLAN terminal 11-2 are acquired as the WLAN terminal information 2 and the WLAN information storage unit 412 stores this (step S67). Further, the WLAN management unit 41a determines the beam angle of the WLAN antenna 21 based on the WLAN terminal information acquired in step S67 (step S68). In this embodiment, the WLAN terminal 11-2 is assumed to be a fixed display and is not expected to move. Therefore, by forming a narrow-range WLAN antenna beam, interference with neighboring WLAN terminals and BT terminals is suppressed.

The WLAN management unit 41a of the information management unit 4b transmits an antenna beam control notification including WLAN antenna beam information indicating the determination result in step S68 to the WLAN device unit 2 (step S69). The WLAN device unit 2 controls the WLAN antenna 21 according to the acquired WLAN antenna beam information, and adjusts the angle of the antenna beam used for communication with the WLAN terminal 11-2.

In the sequence shown in FIG. 17, the antenna beam is adjusted after data communication is started between the WLAN device unit 2 and each WLAN terminal. However, after the WLAN device unit 2 and each WLAN terminal are connected, information management is performed. The unit 4b may wait until the angle of the antenna beam is determined, and data communication may be started with the antenna beam having the determined angle.

Next, a method in which the WLAN management unit 41a of the information management unit 4b acquires WLAN terminal location information, device information, and the like as WLAN terminal information will be described.

As in the second embodiment, the location information of the WLAN terminal can be acquired by transmitting data in all beam directions and specifying the direction in which reception is performed, or by estimating from the received power in each antenna beam. is there. Other methods may be used, and the WLAN terminal position estimation method is not particularly limited.

The device information of the WLAN terminal (type of WLAN terminal) can be estimated from the MAC address of the terminal, for example. The MAC address is composed of a 22-bit vendor code and a 24-bit product number. Therefore, the WLAN terminal vendor can be estimated from the vendor code, and the terminal, mobility, and the like can be estimated. In addition, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy by considering the product number. For example, if the vendor is a game maker, the WLAN terminal is expected to be a portable game machine, and it can be expected that the mobility is high. In the case of a display manufacturer, it can be expected that the display is a fixed display, and the possibility of movement is low.

It can also be estimated from the presence or absence of QoS support. IEEE802.11e supports QoS, and a terminal that supports QoS can be expected to be a terminal on which reliability is important, such as a fixed display. Whether QoS is supported or not can be acquired from QoS Capability of Association Request transmitted from the WLAN terminal.

Further, it may be estimated from the support status of the wireless standard, for example, IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n or supported rate information. The support rate can be acquired from Supported Rates such as Probe Request and Association Request transmitted from the WLAN terminal, Extended Supported Rate, and the like.

In addition, since it has been found that a fixed display installed in an automobile does not move when it is mounted, it can be registered in advance.

As another method, it can also be estimated from fluctuations in received power between the wireless communication device and the WLAN terminal. For example, in the information management unit 4b, the received power of the packet received by the WLAN device unit 2 from the WLAN terminal is measured for a certain period and estimated from the degree of variation. A terminal with a high degree of fluctuation can be predicted as a terminal with a high possibility of movement, and a terminal with a low degree of fluctuation can be predicted as a terminal with a low possibility of movement. The measurement item is not limited to the received power, and for example, a bit error rate or a packet error rate, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), SINR (Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio), or the like can be used. Each piece of information can also be acquired using a statistical information acquisition protocol standardized by IEEE 802.11k.

In each estimation, it is possible to consider the number of antennas of the terminal and surrounding access points.

In this embodiment, the directivity control of the WLAN antenna is performed when communication using a plurality of the same frequency band is performed simultaneously (when simultaneous communication is performed in the same frequency band). Regardless, the directivity of the WLAN antenna may be controlled.

In this embodiment, the WLAN communication is described as an example of the directivity control. However, the wireless communication method is not limited to the WLAN communication as long as the information management unit 4b can perform the above control.

Note that, similarly to the

wireless communication devices

1 and 1a described in the first and second embodiments, the BT management unit 42b includes a BT terminal position estimation unit, and the WLAN management unit 41a includes the connected BT terminal in step S62 and the like. The beam direction and angle of the WLAN antenna may be determined while taking into consideration that the directivity NULL point is directed toward the direction in which the antenna is located.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the WLAN terminal and the BT terminal communicate simultaneously, the position of the WLAN terminal performing communication is estimated, and whether or not the WLAN terminal is a terminal that moves during communication ( Terminal type) is estimated, and the beam range (beam direction and beam angle) of the directional WLAN antenna is adjusted based on the position and type estimation results. Thereby, interference of communication using the same frequency band, such as between WLAN communications and between BT communications and WLAN communications, can be suppressed. Further, by forming a wide-range WLAN antenna beam for a terminal with high mobility and a narrow-band WLAN antenna beam for a terminal with low mobility, communication of a highly mobile terminal becomes unstable ( It is possible to prevent communication from being easily disconnected along with movement.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the same frequency band is used for BT communication and WLAN communication has been described. However, in an environment where only a part of the frequency bands used for both communication overlap. In addition, by applying the control described in each embodiment, it is possible to suppress interference between the two communications.

As described above, the wireless communication device according to the present invention is useful as a wireless communication device compatible with a plurality of types of communication methods, and in particular, communication using frequency hopping and communication of other methods use the same frequency. It is suitable for a wireless communication apparatus that can perform simultaneously.

1, 1a, 1b Wireless communication device 2 WLAN device unit 3

BT device unit

4, 4a, 4b Information management unit 11, 11-1, 11-2 WLAN terminal 12 BT terminal 21 WLAN antenna 22 WLAN radio unit 23 WLAN control unit 31 BT antenna 32 BT radio unit 33 BT control unit 41, 41a

WLAN management unit

42, 42b BT management unit 411 WLAN basic information acquisition unit 412 WLAN information storage unit 413 WLAN terminal location estimation unit 421 BT basic information acquisition unit 422 BT information storage unit 423 BT terminal position estimation unit

Claims

First communication means for performing wireless communication using frequency hopping;
A system that uses a directional antenna capable of controlling directivity using a band including at least a part of a band used by the first communication unit, and is different from the first communication unit. A second communication means for performing wireless communication at
When simultaneous communication by the first communication unit and the second communication unit is detected, the second communication unit performs communication while adjusting the beam direction of the directional antenna, and the first communication An instruction is given to the first communication means and the second communication means so that the means measures the communication quality, and the directivity of the directional antenna is determined based on the communication quality measurement result by the first communication means. Control means for determining a setting value and instructing the second communication means to perform communication using the determined directivity setting value;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising:
The control means includes
Based on the measurement result, the position of the terminal communicating with the first communication means is estimated, and further, the directivity NULL point of the directional antenna is directed to the estimated position of the terminal. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a setting value is determined.
The control means includes
further,
Estimating the position of the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating;
When it is estimated that the first terminal communicating with the first communication means and the second terminal communicating with the second communication means are located in the same direction, the second communication means And whether or not communication using a frequency band different from the frequency band currently used by the second terminal is possible. If communication using a different frequency band is possible, the different frequency band is used. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication apparatus is changed to communication.
The control means includes
In the process of determining the directivity setting value,
The radio communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a beam angle of the directional antenna is determined based on a type of a terminal with which the second communication unit is communicating.
The control means includes
As an operation for estimating the terminal position with which the first communication means is communicating,
While sequentially changing the beam direction of the directional antenna in the same frequency band as the frequency band used by the first communication unit at the timing when the first communication unit communicates with the second communication unit. Instructed to send dummy data,
Further, a measurement result of communication quality during transmission of the dummy data is acquired from the first communication means, and the terminal location is determined based on a communication quality fluctuation result indicated by the acquired communication quality measurement result. The wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication device is estimated.
The control means includes
The communication quality measurement result is acquired every time the beam direction changes, and when the acquired communication quality measurement result indicates that the communication quality has deteriorated, the beam direction corresponding to the communication quality measurement result is set to the terminal position. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the occurrence of deterioration in the communication quality is detected, the control for causing the second communication unit to transmit the dummy data is terminated.
The control means includes
Each time the beam direction changes, the communication quality measurement result is acquired, the communication quality measurement result for each beam direction is acquired a predetermined number of times, the acquired communication quality measurement result is analyzed, and the communication for each beam direction is analyzed. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a beam direction having the worst quality is set as an estimation result of the terminal position.
The control means includes
As an operation for estimating the terminal position with which the first communication means is communicating,
While sequentially changing the beam direction of the directional antenna in the same frequency band as the frequency band used by the first communication unit at the timing when the first communication unit communicates with the second communication unit. Instructed to send dummy data,
Further, the number of frequency channels used in the communication during transmission of the dummy data is acquired from the first communication means, and based on the fluctuation result of the number of used frequency channels, which is the number of the acquired frequency channels. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the terminal position is estimated.
The control means includes
When the beam direction changes, the number of used frequency channels is acquired, and when the acquired number of used frequency channels is smaller than the number of used frequency channels acquired in other beam directions, the acquired used frequency The radio communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a beam direction corresponding to the number of channels is an estimation result of the terminal position.
The control means includes
The number of used frequency channels is acquired every time the beam direction changes, and when the acquired number of used frequency channels is larger than the number of used frequency channels acquired in other beam directions, the acquired used frequency The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a NULL point direction of a beam corresponding to the number of channels is used as an estimation result of the terminal position.
The control means includes
As an operation for estimating the terminal position with which the first communication means is communicating,
While sequentially changing the beam direction of the directional antenna in the same frequency band as the frequency band used by the first communication means at the timing when the first communication means communicates with the second communication means. The radio communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an instruction to perform carrier sense is given, and a beam direction when a received power level equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold is detected is an estimation result of the terminal position.
The control means includes
The number of channels used in communication by the first communication means is confirmed, and when the number of channels is less than a predetermined threshold, control is performed to change to communication using the different frequency band. Item 4. The wireless communication device according to Item 3.
The control means includes
The type of a terminal with which the second communication unit is communicating is specified based on a degree of time fluctuation of a measurement result of a reception power level in the second communication unit. Wireless communication device.
The control means includes
The wireless communication according to claim 4, wherein a type of a terminal with which the second communication unit is communicating is specified based on a degree of time variation of a communication quality measurement result in the second communication unit. apparatus.
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on the MAC address of the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on QoS support information of the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on a wireless communication standard and a communication rate supported by the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The control means includes
The number of channels used in communication by the first communication means is confirmed, and when the number of channels is less than a predetermined threshold, the directivity setting value determination process is performed. Wireless communication device.
The control means includes
After detecting simultaneous communication by the first communication means and the second communication means, and detecting that the first communication means has disconnected,
Instructing the second communication means to end the use of the determined directivity setting value and return to a state before starting the use of the directivity setting value to continue communication. The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1.
The second communication means includes
2. The wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein when starting communication, the control unit waits until the directivity setting value is determined, and performs communication using the determined directivity setting value. apparatus.
First communication means for performing wireless communication using frequency hopping;
A system that uses a directional antenna capable of controlling directivity using a band including at least a part of a band used by the first communication unit, and is different from the first communication unit. A second communication means for performing wireless communication at
Control means for determining a beam angle of the directional antenna based on a type of a terminal with which the second communication means is communicating;
A wireless communication apparatus comprising:
The control means includes
The type of a terminal with which the second communication unit is communicating is specified based on a degree of time fluctuation of a measurement result of a reception power level in the second communication unit. Wireless communication device.
The control means includes
23. The wireless communication according to claim 22, wherein a type of a terminal with which the second communication unit is communicating is specified based on a degree of time variation of a communication quality measurement result in the second communication unit. apparatus.
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on the MAC address of the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The control means includes
The wireless communication apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on the QoS support information of the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The control means includes
The radio communication apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the type of the terminal is specified based on a radio communication standard and a communication rate supported by the terminal with which the second communication means is communicating.
The first communication means performs communication in accordance with a WLAN standard;
The wireless communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 27, wherein the second communication unit performs communication according to a BT standard.
A first communication function for performing wireless communication using frequency hopping, and a directivity capable of controlling directivity using a band including at least a part of a band used in the first communication function. A wireless communication apparatus having a second communication function using a directional antenna and performing wireless communication in a manner different from that of the first communication function, wherein the first communication function and the second communication function are simultaneously performed A wireless communication method to be executed when used,
A communication quality measuring step of performing communication by the second communication function while adjusting a beam direction of the directional antenna, and measuring communication quality of communication by the first communication function;
An antenna adjustment step of adjusting a beam direction of the directional antenna based on the measurement result of the communication quality;
A wireless communication method comprising:
A first communication function for performing wireless communication using frequency hopping, and a directivity capable of controlling directivity using a band including at least a part of a band used in the first communication function. A wireless communication apparatus having a second communication function using a directional antenna and performing wireless communication in a manner different from that of the first communication function, wherein the first communication function and the second communication function are simultaneously performed A wireless communication method to be executed when used,
A direction confirmation step of determining whether or not the position of the first terminal that performs communication by the first communication function and the position of the second terminal that performs communication by the second communication function are in the same direction;
If it is determined in the direction confirmation step that the same direction is used, the second terminal confirms whether communication using a frequency band different from the frequency band currently in use is possible, and communication using a different frequency band is performed. If possible, a frequency band changing step for changing to communication using the different frequency band; and
When it is determined in the direction confirmation step that the directions are not the same, the communication by the second communication function is performed while adjusting the beam direction of the directional antenna, and the communication quality of the communication by the first communication function is improved. An antenna adjustment step for measuring and adjusting the beam direction of the directional antenna based on the measurement result of the communication quality;
A wireless communication method comprising:
In the antenna adjustment step,
The radio communication method according to claim 29 or 30, further comprising adjusting a beam angle of the directional antenna based on a type of the second terminal.